Back to Times of Ancient, Antediluvian Splendour - 89%

This outfit is a fairly interesting entity; they started in the distant 1985, but after toiling in the underground for about six years, they called it quits. The result of said toilings amounted to an isolated 4-track demo that was later featured in the 2003 compilation of the same title. The style on that demo was intense dark thrash with echoes of Possessed and the Canadians Slaughter, plus the casual stomping nod to early Celtic Frost. The compilation wasn’t exactly a product of any reformation attempts as it was another four years later when the guys were up and ready for another spell with the music industry.

A 2-piece demo was quickly assembled as an inauguration gesture, both cuts featured on the album reviewed here, in the company of several songs from their 80’s period. The delivery has shifted towards a blend of power and thrash as both styles have been well balanced throughout the excellent soaring clean vocals of the singer Eric Morales (also the epic doom metal heroes Dantesco) establishing themselves on the forefront from the get-go. The guys spare no one, though, at the beginning with the duo of vitriolic speed/thrashing openers (“Night of the Witches”, “I Am,”) which still come epic-decorated, but the raging riffs are really hard to be disguised. The title-track pacifies the situation being a quiet balladic instrumental, but “Broken Winds” speeds up again split between heavy mid-paced passages and speedy more technical motifs embedded in the second half.

“Ready to Burn” is a brilliant mix of doom and thrash in the vein of the 90’s Swedish wave (Memento Mori, Hexenhaus, Pathos) and Sanctuary’s “Into the Mirror Black” with enchanting Oriental tunes and a sudden, somewhat off-context, brutal deathy break; and “Betrayer of the Soul” follows a similar pattern, increasing the virtuoso lead exploits also adding a nice memorable chorus. “Time for Changes” from the debut demo comes pouring steel fast-paced riffs into the proceedings, a standout thrasher modernized to an extent to suit the new environment, also with an added more technical flair. “Dark Land” and “Nimrod”, two other remnants from the same demo, follow suit with the same no-bars-held approach, wrapping it on with furious lashing guitars the latter aggravating the setting with more aggressive deathy flair.

An excellent compendium all over, the new more laid-back material siding well with the more intense older stuff, the band feeling confident handling these two genres with dexterity, producing a far-reaching opus in the process. There were no compromises whatsoever made with their assured retro metal stance, and it seemed as though the Chilean scene would have distinguished leaders in the face of these hardened veterans…

Well, not exactly as they hid from sight, only to re-appear a few months ago after a lengthy absence with a brand new opus. Another commendable achievement on all counts, it shows our heroes much fonder of the more bashing, more immediate side of our favourite thrash, moshing with renovated vigour, producing a “beast” of the Forbidden debut and Vio-Lence’s “Eternal Nightmare” proportions. A few mellower power metal tendencies can still be detected, but these are mere glimpses of more introspective thinking which the band obviously have intentions on phasing out bit by bit. Even if they don’t completely, one would hardly mind hearing the good old thrash in league with the odd heavy, epic power metal motif.